Fenton Wastewater Treatment Plant, December 2015. Photos provided by Sean Hadley, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District.
The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) is advising the public to avoid contact with the Meramec River between Fenton, Mo, and the Mississippi River. The Fenton Wastewater Treatment Plant is not operational due to damage from the late December flooding. The damage, which could take months to repair, has resulted in untreated sewage being pumped directly into the Meramec River from homes and businesses.
If anyone should come in contact with the Meramec River between Fenton, Mo, and the Mississippi River, the MSD suggests “immediately and thoroughly” washing with soap and water.
To read the MSD January 29, 2016, posting CLICK HERE.
Environmental Echo 
I visited George Winter Park Lake, which is on the Meramec and south of the damaged Fenton MSD Sewage Plant. It was a little disturbing to see boaters ignoring the signs posted about the dangers of coming into contact with the water tainted by raw sewage.
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Linda Fenton asked: Why are the waste water treatment facilities built in a 100 year flood plain? It defies common sense. Here is what MSD says:
How does MSD choose where to build its treatment plants?
Modern wastewater systems depend on the natural topography of the land. Gravity moves the wastewater from its source in a home or business down to a wastewater treatment
plant. At various points, pumps are required to overcome higher areas of topography. MSD builds wastewater treatment plants in low-lying areas, taking advantage of gravity to move wastewater through its collection system to treatment. Each treatment plant is equipped with flood protections that make the most engineering, operational, and economic sense.
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